Columbia junior Sophie Reiser made the switch from midfielder to forward this year in order to help the women's soccer team succeed. She also aided her own cause, racking up 12 goals and 11 assists en route to being named the 2008 Ivy League Player of the Year. It is the first time that a senior has not received the honor since 2003, when Princeton forward Esmeralda Negron earned the individual title as a junior.

"We had a lot of great progress [this season] and just great contributions from everyone on the field, and that really allows me to step up and play an extremely attacking role," Reiser said. "I really love playing midfield. I kind of grew up playing there, but I definitely have a natural instinct to go for it and be an attacking player."

Reiser finished the year at the top of the league in goals scored along with Princeton's Sarah Peteraf, a junior midfielder and fellow all-Ivy first team member. Penn midfielder Sarah Friedman, a sophomore, led the conference in assists with 15 and also earned first team honors. Reiser recorded the second-most assists among Ivy players this season.

While the all-Ivy first team consists of 11 women, Reiser was the only one unanimously named to the squad.

"She clearly won the respect of the other coaches in the league," Columbia head coach Kevin McCarthy said. "It's very well-deserved."

After winning the Ivy League along with Harvard this season, Princeton placed the greatest number of players on the first team with four: Peteraf, senior defender Lisa Chinn, senior defender Taylor Numann, and sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Pont all made the cut after leading the Tigers to a 5-1-1 league record.

Five of Reiser's teammates were also recognized for their individual performances this season with the Lions. Senior goalkeeper Rebecca Taylor, junior defender Meggie Ford, junior midfielder Ashley Mistele, and freshman forward Ashlin Yahr earned all-Ivy second team selections. In addition, sophomore defender Lauren Cooke was chosen for all-Ivy honorable mention.

Taylor started 12 contests in goal this year and earned five wins, tying Harvard goalkeeper Lauren Mann for the fourth-most saves in the conference with 61. Mann, a junior, received all-Ivy honorable mention. Taylor and Mann also finished with .824 save percentages, the fourth-highest marks in the league.

Yahr was the third-highest scorer in the conference with 10 goals and tied Harvard forward Melanie Baskind—the 2008 Ivy Rookie of the Year—for the fifth-most assists among Ivy players with seven.

"We have a really strong returning class just in terms of our entire team," Reiser said. "Getting the recognition now just kind of gets the ball rolling for the dominant force that we're going to be as a team next season."